Pinot Noir – Page 11

Calcareous Vineyard’s Journey To Excellence Continues…

June 30, 2014 by Deborah Mines

Aptly named for the terroir, Calcareous Vineyard is perched high atop a limestone plateau, aka calcareous soil, on the westside of the Paso Robles Wine Trail. Situated in the Paso Robles AVA, the influence of the Templeton Gap and the Salinas valley fog and steep hillsides make this a spectacular setting for the vines to flourish.

Calcareous Vineyard is the collaboration of a father-daughter team, Lloyd Messer and Dana Brown, who purchased the 442 acre estate in 2000. Today, Calcareous Vineyard is woman-run, with Dana as the winemaker and her sister Erika at her side. Their first harvest was in 2006, winning yearly accolades in wine tasting competitions ever since. [Read more…]

Santa Maria’s Cambria Estate Vineyards & Winery Is Empowering

June 12, 2014 by Deborah Mines

Approaching Cambria Estate Vineyards & Winery from Santa Maria, it’s easy to miss the turnoff unless you’re watching for their sign. The views are panoramic and open as large tracts of vineyards span the river beds for miles along the east-west valley in Santa Maria Valley AVA.

In 1981, the Santa Maria American Viticulture Area was designated as the third AVA in the United States and the first in Santa Barbara County. This unique microclimate leads to early bud break and a long ripening season for the grapes.

Cambria Estate Vineyards and Winery has been touted for over 25 years as a world-class producer of fine Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines. The winery is also SIP Certified, (Sustainability in Practice), a bio-dynamic farming practice that embraces water conservation and the highest utilization of the land.

What makes Cambria Estate Vineyards and Winery even more unique is that it is woman-owned with a woman winemaker at the helm. Vino-preneur Barbara Banke and her two daughters run the day-to-day operations and Denise Shurtleff is the artisan winemaker. [Read more…]

Russian River Valley’s Hip Hop Kiln Winery Is A Real Treasure

May 20, 2014 by Deborah Mines

Arriving at Hop Kiln Winery in Russian River, I was awestruck. Upon closer look, a brass California Registered Historical Landmark plaque (No. 893) read, “This structure served the important hop industry of California’s north coast region, once the major hop-growing area in the west. Built in 1905 by a crew of Italian stonemasons, it represents the finest existing example of its type, consisting of three stone kilns for drying hops, a wooden cooler, and a two-story press for bailing hops for shipment”.

Prior to the Walters Ranch Hop Kiln, the 250-acre property was known as Sweet Water Springs, which originally served as a stagecoach stop. Visiting the Hop Kiln homestead is like stepping back in time to the early 1900s. There’s a stately, but weathered, plantation house complete with a covered veranda and a few abandoned outbuildings all which overlook a scenic pond and the vineyards in the distance. [Read more…]

Russian River Valley’s Upscale Lynmar Estate Is Trendy & Chic

May 9, 2014 by Deborah Mines

Russian River Valley is pretty laid-back and casual as far as wine regions go. That’s what I like best about visiting this enclave in Northern Sonoma County. No pretentious know-it-alls, not a lot of flash and show… winemakers are approachable and very down-to-earth and the locals are friendly and quick to start conversations with strangers.

By happenstance, I discovered Lynmar Estate and now it’s one of my all-time favorite tasting room stops in the northern Sonoma wine country. Contemporary and chic, Lynmar Estate has an ethereal draw the minute you pass through the front gates.

Lynmar Estate is comprised of 70 rolling acres of 15 clones of Pinot Noir, four clones of Chardonnay, and a block of Syrah, The original vines are more than 40 years old, and provided early grape stock to noted Russian River Valley Pinot Noir wine makers Merry Edwards and Tony Soter. [Read more…]

Meet Paso’s Own Beaune Ranger At Windward Vineyard

April 27, 2014 by Deborah Mines

Windward Vineyard is an artisan winery dedicated exclusively to Pinot Noir. Situated in the Templeton Gap in Paso Robles, this unique microclimate closely emulates the French Burgundy terroir with the calcareous soil and 50 degree temperature swings from day to night. Cool ocean breezes are carried up Highway 146 on the westside of Paso Robles Wine Country, bringing cool moisture to the grapes, allowing the Pinot Noir to thrive.

Being a Pinot Noir aficionada, I was thrilled to start my tasting day at Windward Vineyard before venturing into the land of Zinfandel, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, which is widely touted and planted in the Paso Robles AVA.

The Windward Vineyard Pinot Noir wines are handcrafted in pure Burgundian style by “Wine Sheppard” Marc Goldberg, aka the “Beaune Ranger of Templeton Gap”. Wife Maggie D’Ambrosia and son Justin work in the winery and are on hand daily to greet visitors in the tasting room. [Read more…]